The present invention relates to an apparatus for collecting, assembling and inserting printery products according to the preamble of claim 1.
European Patent Application 0,095,603 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,930 disclose an apparatus for collecting folded printery products in which a plurality of saddle-shaped supports are arranged like ladder rungs on two conveyor chains circulating in parallel. Arranged downstream from one another along the effective conveying upper strand are a plurality of feed locations at which folded printery products are deposited astride onto the supports. At the end of the effective conveying stretch, the collected printery products, thus deposited one on top of the other, are lifted off the supports and conveyed away by means of a withdrawal station.
Furthermore, European Patent Application 0,218,872 or the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,951 discloses an apparatus for assembling printery products. This apparatus has a plurality of pocket-shaped receiving parts which are arranged transversely to the circulating direction on a circulating conveyor chain. Provided along the effective conveying stretch are a plurality of feed locations at which printery products are fed into the receiving parts. At the end of the effective conveying stretch, the printery products, thus assembled and arranged side by side in the receiving parts, are transferred together to a further-processing station by opening the base of the receiving parts.
Swiss Patent Specification 594,553 discloses a similar apparatus for inserting printery products This apparatus has pocket-shaped receiving parts which are arranged on a circulating tension member and into which a folded printery product is fed at a first feed location. In the course of the further transport to the next feed location, this printery product is opened by means of an opening device so that the printery products fed into the receiving parts at the next feed locations come to lie in this opened, first printery product. Arranged downstream from the feed locations is a withdrawal location at which the printery products inserted one into the other are released and fed to a further processing station by opening the base of the receiving parts.
In printeries or in works which process printery products such as bookbinderies, both actual collecting apparatuses as well as actual insertion or assembly apparatuses are required. Frequently, these apparatuses can therefore only be used from time to time.
The object of the present invention is therefore to reduce the plurality of different apparatuses and machines necessary in printeries and in works processing printery products and to increase the utilization of the machines available.